Intestinal microsporidiosis in African skink Mabuya perrotetii.

Intestinal microsporidiosis was documented by detecting abundant slightly curved spores (2.9 x 1.2 microns) in the faeces of five of twelve skinks Mabuya perrotetii Duméril et Bibron, 1839 that originated from Ghana. Clinically, the microsporidiosis was characterized by decreased appetite, diarrhea, and weight loss. Histopathological changes consisted of villous atrophy, blunting of mucosa and flattening of individual epithelial cells in the large intestine. The ultrastructure of microsporidian spores was consistent with an Encephalitozoon species. The PCR-RFLP assay and the heteroduplex mobility shift analyses were used to verify that the skink microsporidian is a species of the genus Encephalitozoon Levaditi, Nicolau et Schoen, 1923 and indicate that this microsporidian is not E. hellem, E. intestinalis or a strain of E. cuniculi. The microsporidia in African skink represent an Encephalitozoon species morphologically identical to Encephalitozoon lacertae Canning, 1981.